BETWEEN THE LINES

Why eligibility is a winning issue

Joseph Farah is founder, editor and chief executive officer of WND. He is the author or co-author of 13 books that have sold more than 5 million copies, including his latest, "The Restitution of All Things: Israel, Christians, and the End of the Age." Before launching WND as the first independent online news outlet in 1997, he served as editor in chief of major market dailies including the legendary Sacramento Union.

From the very beginning of WND’s relentless coverage of the eligibility issue, there were many very high-profile conservatives in public office and the media who discouraged any focus on it.

They whispered and muttered that it was not a “winning issue.”

They wrung their hands in worriment over the possibility that Barack Obama would pull the rug out from under the pursuit by pulling his long-form birth certificate out of his hat – making us look ridiculous for ever asking for it.

They even went so far as to suggest the whole controversy was a “trap” being set for those who went near it.

They warned that Obama is waiting for me to get out far enough on a limb so he can saw it off.

They were even afraid that Obama might indeed be ineligible and the nation would face a constitutional crisis as a result.

I didn’t listen to them then, and I don’t listen to them now.

Why?

It’s very simple.

There is no doubt, none whatsoever, that Barack Obama is hiding something about his origins and his life leading to the White House.

It has been two-and-a-half years since serious questions first arose about his birthplace, his parentage, his adoption, his travels, his college years, his early education and so on. When we began pursuing the question of his constitutional eligibility, no one else was covering it or taking it seriously. In fact, we were pleasantly surprised in June of 2009 when we conducted our first scientific public-opinion poll on the issue to learn that 50 percent of the public had even heard about the controversy – and that half of those were skeptical about Obama’s claims.

We were amazed at how many people were aware of the story with only one news source covering it.

The most recent poll, conducted by CNN last summer, showed 58 percent of Americans skeptical of Obama’s claims and that the entire world knows about the controversy – and that’s with practically the entire media establishment devoted to denying there is any story worth covering.

How is that not a winning issue?

Yet, most conservatives are still hiding in the tall grass on this issue, afraid of their own shadows and being outsmarted by their political opponents.

I have always looked at this issue through the eyes of a newsman. It is the job of the news media to hold politicians accountable to the law and the standards of our society.

The Constitution requires the president to be a “natural born citizen,” and the very first piece of evidence one would need to show to establish that fact is a long-form birth certificate – and actual eyewitness account of a birth taking place in a specific place, at a specific time, by specific parents.

So we asked for that specific document. We couldn’t get it. Obama wouldn’t release it. Nobody in government, no controlling legal authority has ever seen it as part of a process of evaluating Obama’s eligibility.

Even as a rookie cub reporter 35 years ago, I would have recognized that as a cover-up – a deliberate one. Somebody clearly had something to hide.

It’s amazing to me today, even as this story begins breaking out beyond WND, that practically no one in the media sees what I and my merry band of WND reporters and editors see. The American people get it. But the media and even most conservative political activists don’t. Most Republican officials are afraid of it.

But what could possibly be wrong with asking for the documentation that is absolutely necessary to meeting the constitutional test?

How could it backfire if Obama actually produces the proof? That’s all we’re asking for. That’s all we ever asked for. I would consider it a major victory if Obama produced what I have been asking him to produce for two-and-a-half years. I would even be relieved to find out that the man occupying the White House is indeed constitutionally eligible for the office he has held for the last two years.

I still don’t understand what is the downside of demanding something so innocent and so essential to constitutional governance as proof of eligibility.

I’m not afraid Obama will produce what I’m asking for. I’m afraid he won’t. That’s something very scary. It is already a constitutional crisis when the president can assume office and make profound changes in the direction of the country without ever proving he is constitutionally eligible.

Why won’t he produce it?

Americans are asking this question more frequently than ever before. It has become something of a national joke. But it’s not a joking matter. It’s a matter of national security and constitutional integrity.

Now that several states are ready to approve legislation requiring future presidential candidates to prove their eligibility before getting on the ballot, we are closer than ever to learning whether Obama can meet that test.

If he seeks re-election, he can. If he doesn’t, he can’t.

If he doesn’t and can’t, I dare someone to tell me our hard work and dedication on this issue wasn’t worthwhile and productive.